Our last few days on Lake Superior could not have been better! We departed Marquette on Saturday morning in route to Munising, Michigan - a short trip of 45 miles. The weather was warm and the seas were calm for our journey. Munising, population 0f 1500, is the last stop we can make before departing Lake Superior. When we arrived, we were surprised that this was the day for the annual Munising Bay Arts Festival. Festivities included local arts/crafts along with local performers and bands performing in the pavilion. Good time had by all!
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Local kid band performing for the locals!
Practice, practice, practice |
We also had the distinct honor of being invited to one of the most memorial events we have experienced since being on any of our trips! One of the local ladies - in her late 80's - was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and has very limited time remaining. As one of her final wishes, she asked all her friends and family to come in assigned costumes and perform a play she had written about a local folklore of the surrounding islands. She wanted to see her play acted out on stage. In the picture below she is the older lady on the left with white top and black hat. Everyone, including her, had a great evening and all seemed to have a lot of fun - including us.
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| The Last Act |
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| Sunrise as we departed Munising |
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| East Channel Lighthouse |
We knew the following day would be long - over 130 miles to Sault Ste Marie - but the weather was perfect and the views of the Painted Rocks National Lakeshore as we departed Munising were great. These naturally carved rocks were created by the wind, water, and ice of Lake Superior and is a 37 mile long masterpiece of color and rock formations. The pictures we took do not do the view justice. You almost have to see them to appreciate the beauty.
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| Miners Castle |
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| Lovers Leap |
The remainder of the day and the trip was uneventful. When we finally rounded Whitefish Point we still had another 50 or so miles before leaving Lake Superior. Whitefish Point was made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot ballad about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald some 30 years ago. This was the point that the Captain was trying to reach before being hit by a 50 foot wave. We actually followed the same shipping channel as the Fitzgerald but, fortunately, did not see any waves.(After departing Lake Superior we downloaded "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on the IPod and listened to the lyrics)
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| Lighthouse at Whitefish Point |
After 13 hours on the water, we finally arrived in Sault Ste Marie, locked through the Canadian side of the locks, and docked at a marina on the American side of St Mary's River. We refueled and departed on Monday morning for the half mile trip across the river to the Canadian side. We cleared customs and plan to stay here for a few days before departing for the North Channel. We don't anticipate having any Internet access over the next week or so so will try to do another posting before we arrive in Georgian Bay. We will try to update as soon as possible and anticipate great pictures of this section of the trip.
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| Good Bye Lake Superior |
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View from St Mary's River
as we approached The Soo
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1 comment:
I enjoyed your blog posts. My wife and I plan to do a similar trip within a year or two. We have relatives with a home on Lake Superior near Saulte Ste M. … can dock right in their front yard.
We have never boated before, but plan to buy one in the spring and get our sea legs around the areas you described here.
We live on Canada's west coast, but are from Eastern Canada. We considered boating here, but the west coast is too rugged and the water is too big … if you know what I mean. The Loop seems to have much more interest and variety.
Cheers,
John V
Nanaimo, BC
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